Dwarf (Deceased Race)
The stone-children were the second race of Ura, created after the Elves were already well-established within the realms. During the Black War the Dwarves were tricked into serving Hasserra against the Seven. The Dwarves eventually rebelled against the dark master and aided in turning the tide against him. Dwarves were engineers and miners, born to shape stone and metal and ultimately return to it. Due to the initial deception of the Dwarves by Hasserra, they had a mistrust of all gods, instead referring to venerate their ancestors. Their stocky builds and intense demeanor once made them excellent warriors on the battlefield. Dwarves, moreso than any other race, valued family above all else. A Dwarf's greatest strengths were his heartiness and his strong bonds with family or those he considered family. His greatest weaknesses were his gullibility, stubborness, and material greed. As of August, the year 1017 of the Fourth Age, there are no more Dwarves in Ura. Though still unknown why, all Dwarves (both Ironborn and Uzhar) turned to stone between July 22 of the same year and possibly several days after. None living have yet to be found, and even the Elves agree that none living ever will be again. Dol-Baror was the main nation of Dwarves. Their kingdom was located within the Iron Mountains, though it is now overrun by goblins and orcs. Before the fall of the stone children, it was estimated that some thirty to sixty thousand Dwarves lived in Ura, with nearly half of them living in Dol-Baror in Lancerus. It is imperative to note that the Dwarves of Dol-Baror (known often as Iron Dwarves) were much kinder than their distant cousins, who lived in the Black Mountains in the underground kingdom known as Klad-Túrum (thus their moniker Dark Dwarves). The Dwarves possessed strong relations with the surrounding human kingdoms and were particularly adept at combating the evils that dwelled within the earth they bore. The symbol of Dol-Baror was a Dwarven helmet. The last Dwarven King of Dol-Baror was Crull Lunablood. The symbol of Klad-Túrum changed frequently upon the ascension of new leaders. The last leader of Klad-Túrum was Turgel the Anvilbeard. Origin Dwarves were the first free race created specifically for the habitation of Ura. Unlike Outer World, a realm of magic, spirits, and the unformed, Ura was stable, solid, and material. Elves, though talented in many schools of life, were not accustomed to unforgiving rock and a sky with a burning sun. As such, Nolweva instructed Kalyar to create a new race that would work with the Elves. Kalyar refused, stating that the Elves were without need of aid. Nolweva, unable to convince his prideful brother, instead turned to the other gods. In tandem, they created Dwarves, a race far removed from the aesthetics Kalyar was often known for. Though the race had been fashioned, they could not truly exist until Kalyar had given them the ability to live and reproduce, a skill no other member of The Seven could fabricate. Reluctantly, Kalyar did so. Finally, Yav bestowed the breath of life upon the Dwarves. Dwarves entered Ura curious and filled with an urge to cultivate the sweeping mountains. Their introduction to the Elves culminated into a strong partnership; Elves admired the strength and industrial nature of their new brothers, the Dwarves loved the ethereal nature and great wisdom of their Elven siblings. The Elves taught the Dwarves writing, smithing, music, architecture, and all manner of other pursuits of knowledge. Afterwords, the Dwarves set forth to build their own kingdoms. Dwarves felt a tremendous desire to take what the Elves taught them and expand upon it. Their languages became larger and more complex, their population swelled, and their cities were unparalleled in size and splendor. Though not immortal, Dwarves live for several centuries, the oldest living into their fourth. Dwarves are stocky yet incredibly strong. They use their muscle to cleave stone from mountain and flesh from goblin. Dwarves are also very intelligent, if not as wise as the Elves. The Deception of the Dwarves The Elves maintained a majority of their kingdoms on the western edges of Rhivic. The Dwarves, however, journeyed much farther to the East. It is because of this that they were the first race to encounter the perils and trickery of Hasserra. Seeing that the Dwarves were a less magical race and therefore unable to sense his evil, Hasserra made his move. Disguised as Dwarven Seer (since the Veil prevented Hasserra from entering Ura in his full power), The Great Enemy used his silver-lined poisoned tongue to attempt to fool the Dwarven King, Thúral the Unyielding, that the Elves were tricking the Dwarves and making them appear as a lesser race before The Seven. Thúral would not believe him, maintaining that the Elves had ever been strong allies. Hasserra then attempted a new strategy for his schemes: allegiance with a Dragon. Faphner the Black was promised vast riches in exchange for the decimation of the Dwarves. Faphner complied and smote many Dwarven cities from the face of Ura. Thúral reached out to the Elves for aid. The Elves, fearing the wrath of a Dragon (which they had not seen since before the Dawn of Ura), refused. Hasserra then again appeared, knowing that the Elves would have refused, and spoke again. He promised that if he defeated the Dragon, the Dwarves must go to war against the Elves. Thúral, remembering the cowardice of the Elves and feeling abandoned by The Seven, agreed. Hasserra then spoke with Faphner. He would make it appear that the beast was slain. Faphner agreed, and partook of a grand spectacle in which an army of Orcs (a race never before seen by the Dwarves) attacked the beast. Faphner then quietly vanished, only to appear many years later as Faphner the Forged during the Black War. (See Faphner the Black for more info) This was the beginning of the Black War, as Dwarven armies and Orcish hordes marched upon the cities of the Elves. Only many years into the struggle, as the nations of Men came to be to bolster the ailing Elves, did the Dwarves rescind the darkness of Hasserra and switch sides. It was this change of allegiance, along with the coming of Men, that ultimately undid the power of Gothkrissil and ended the Black War. Though the Dwarves returned to the side of The Seven, the Elves never regained their love of their stony brethren. The Dwarves, meanwhile, swore off the powers above, believing all interaction with the divine is trouble waiting to happen. Iron Dwarf The Dwarves of Lancerus are known as the Iron Dwarves. When speaking of Dwarves, the term almost always refers to those of the kingdom of Dol-Baror. After the fall of Rhivic, Dwarves divided into two distinct sects. With their king dead, he majority of them allied with Brogor Ironheart, a great warrior of the Black War. Brogor and his Dwarven people marched south during the Great Exodus of Rhivic. Upon reaching the new land, the Dwarves dispersed; some remained with Ederis Whitefang the human hero in what would become Gildor, some traveled to the West towards the ruins of Rorn's Throne, and still others traveled East to reunite with what would become the Dark Dwarves. The majority, however, continued with Brogor to the mountains to the south. There they would make their home of Dol-Baror and give the mountain range the name of the Iron Mountains, in honor of their new king. Uzhar, Dark Dwarf Not all Dwarves returned to the side of The Seven during the Black War, nor did all Dwarves follow Brogor to Lancerus after the war had ended. These Dwarves are known as Dark Dwarves. During the Mass Exodus of Rhivic, the Dark Dwarves journied through the Wastes to reach the Black Mountains. Few other races could have survived the journey the Dark Dwarves weathered. The largest mountain, the Grayheight, provided one final challenge for them: Faphner the Forged, who had survived the Black War, had retreated and made the mountain his home. The Dwarves, seeing this terrible reminder of their past, destroyed the beast utterly and completely. The beasts remains were used in the making of various powerful artifacts, all of which the Dark Dwarves guard with jealousy. The Dark Dwarves, who now called themselves the Uzhar, a form of a Dwarvish word meaning "the greatest ruin". The Uzhar built Klad-Túrum, a vast kingdom fortress, beneath the Grayheight. There they mined, always prepared for attack from the outside world. The Uzhar are perhaps the most militaristic race alive in Ura today. They possess: # Dragonbone weaponry (spears, arrows and javelins that slice through Dragon scale with ease) # Galvorn armor (nearly as strong as Mithril though not as light, much more abundant, deep violet to jet black in color) # Dragonscale armor (as strong as mithril, impervious to heat or cold) # Steam-powered locomotives and vehicles of war # Magical artifacts from the Second Age The Uzhar have also constructed a vast array of tunnels and cities under the surface. One such tunnel supposedly leads all the way to the Far East, though the validity of this claim cannot be officially verified. Physically, Uzhar are similar to Iron Dwarves in most respects. Their skin is often paler, their beards tend to go silver earlier in life, and they are supposedly even stronger than their Dwarven cousins to the West. Although lawful and respectful of their own kind and their ancestors, the Uzhar are extremely violent, self-pleasing, and manipulative of others. Uzhar also have the potential to learn and control the dying art of magic (and a knack for the Dark Arts), a feat unheard of in all races except the Elves. This is most likely a result of their willingness to accept the latent evil in their souls left by the taint of Gothkrissil. Category:Races